Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Marks of an Educated Man (Reflection)

I find this text very hard to understand and there are lots of words that are very deep.
When can we say that one is really “educated”? When those people finish his degree? When he become successful in his career? And when can we say that a teacher is really effective? When he is good at teaching? When he is intelligent?
Being a teacher is not that easy. Anyone can be a teacher but not everyone are effective teachers. it may look like as simple as knowing the lessons and just delivering it in front of the students but it more than that. A teacher also needs to install good manners among their students and to be role models for them. Each student is unique and very different from one another even though they came from the same school since every school has a different curriculum; it doesn’t teach exactly the same thing as other schools do.
Teachers should be very careful on what they are teaching to their students, make sure that this will help the student to become a better person.
In my own opinion, I can say that a teacher is effective when he/she is successful on promoting good moral values to his/her students and when one is capable of creating students that are good human beings. As educators, this is what we can do to help the world to become a better place, create students that can also help in making the world a better place.
Learning does not stop on the classroom; there are many things that can be learned outside the classroom that you may never learn inside. Experience is one thing, as said in the text “Experience has taught the peasant or the illiterate businessman his lessons, he is often hopelessly gullible”.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

I will persist. I will win. (Reflection)

Last Thursday we talked about success and how to make your dreams come true.
Of course everybody wants to be successful on their chosen field and fulfill all their dreams. Every one of us dreams of living the dream, but making that dream into a reality is not as simple as that.
I really find that essay very inspiring, our attitude success should be the same as the author’s attitude as shown in the text. Nobody said that it would be easy, but if we really want that dream we will continue chasing it until we reach it. Dreams are hard to achieve but if we take one step at a time, every thing will be in order and we will get closer to it step by step. Keep in mind that it is important be optimistic, don’t be pessimistic and dwell on your failures because failures only mean that you are trying. If you fix your mind that you can’t do it, then you really can’t.
When I was in high-school, there was a time that my grades went down and they were very low. I feel so sad because of what happened so I work hard to make it up for my low grades. I didn’t have that much confidence back then but I was not pessimistic and focus on what I want to achieve after the quarter. When I saw my grades, I was so happy because I got more that what I expected. Another important factor when you have a goal is to focus on that goal and not think of anything else. Confidence is good but not too much because it might pull you down.
Reaching for your goal is like a long journey, there are sunshine, rain and obstacles. At one point or another you’re going to feel tired and doubt whether you should continue or stop. For those who gives up easily will stop there and look back, but for those who believes in themselves, a little rest is enough for them and continue the journey. Obstacles will be on the way to the road of success but for those who really want to achieve their dreams, they will overcome it whatever happens.
Another thing that it is important for me is motivation, because it will help you keep going whenever you want to give up. These really work for me because I want to achieve something and I want to move forward. Put in mind that whenever we are facing an obstacle, it may be hard but it will help us to grow to the person we want to be and it will help us to be brighter.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A walk to forever reflection

When I've first heard the title of this short story, I already had an idea that it is about love. I really like the story because for me it is so romantic.
In the story, Catherine and Newt were childhood friends and they have a hidden love for each other but neither one of them doesn’t want to admit it. Luckily they still end up together because Newt decides to tell Catherine that he loves her a week before her wedding. The story is nice because it shows how love waits for the right time for two people who are meant to be for each other because I believe that some things are not to be rushed specially something that you want to last forever. I believe that Catherine really love Newt even though she is marrying Mr. Chasens. I think the reason why she accepted to marry Mr. Chasens even though she is really in love with Newt because she thinks that it is impossible between them so she try to forget Newt and just look for another. Maybe Catherine doesn’t want to grow as an old maid so she just accepted Mr. Chasens’ proposal and try to forget Newt. If I were Catherine I would also do the same because a girl just couldn’t wait forever. Good thing that Newt decided to tell Catherine although the timing is really bad but I can’t blame him. At least he said it before it’s too late. I understand that Newt is a shy person (base from the story), at least he did tell Catherine before it’s too late. Maybe he is thinking what if Catherine doesn’t feel the same; he would just get dumped and embarrassed but put in mind that a moment of embarrassment is better than a lifetime of regret.
There are some people in life that no matter how hard you try to forget them you really can’t, maybe because they are really meant to be there. There’s no time to lose and no opportunities to waste, if you love someone take the chance and take the risk. Stop thinking of what could go wrong; instead think of what could go right.
Just like Catherine and Newt’s love story, they still end up together despite the consequences and the trials. If two people are really meant for each other, they will find each other at the right time. A great love story indeed, it shows how love remains in the hearts of people despite the troubles and conflicts in the world.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

3 letters from Teddy reflection

3 letters from Teddy
When I’ve read these story, I was touched because it is so inspiring and it shows how important the role of educators in touching a child’s life despite the low salaries and the pressure on the job. It is human nature to like the intelligent and smart kids in the classroom and to dislike those who are like the “outcasts”. But as educators, we should not be entitled to dislike the outcasts and the black sheep inside the classroom, for we should all look equally into our students whether they are smart or not. It is pretty obvious that what the teacher did was wrong, disliking Teddy and putting an extra effort to put a very bright red mark into his paper. Although Teddy doesn’t know that his teacher really dislike him, he looks at his teacher as his mom and look highly upon her. For him, his teacher is like his mother even though the teacher isn’t making any effort to help him at all. I almost cry when I’ve come to the part where the teacher was opening her gifts during the Christmas party because Teddy gives his mom’s possessions to the teacher who secretly hated him. The teacher knowing this felt guilty so she wept and did her best to help Teddy. In the future, Teddy succeeded in his chosen career and he was also lucky because he find love, what more could I ask for when this happened to me? The inspiration for this is Teddy’s teacher.
Very nice story indeed, it shows how important teachers are. As educators, we have a very important responsibility when it comes to teaching and we are responsible for our students learning. We should make learning fun and easy for them, help them to develop their cognitive aspects and brings out the best in every child. I believe that everyone of us have a special ability/talent but they just haven’t notice it yet so one our role is to help the child discover what is it. This is very common, almost everyone sees it that way that our role is just inside the classroom and helps learners in their academics and develops their cognitive measure but they are wrong because there is more than that. Educators should serve as a role model to every child, an inspiration and a guide to everyone. Let us do our best to help every child in need, whether it is our favourite student, the outcast of the classroom, the class clown, or whoever it is because each child is unique and special in their own way. We don’t know what they are going through, what kind of problems do they have when they go home or outside school, we don’t know their story. Just like Teddy, he was suffering from his mom’s death.

What is the most important role of educators in every child’s life? Is it helping to bring out the best in him? Shaping the child’s cognitive ability? Or making learning fun and easy for the child? The answer is none of the above because for me it’s making a difference in every child’s life. Just like in the story, how the teacher served as an inspiration to Teddy, we could see that the teacher becomes a very relevant person in Teddy’s life. Who are the teachers that we could not forget? Of course our favourite teachers, not those we don’t like and also not those who are just neutral to us, but the teachers who inspire us, those who believe in us and those who told us to never give up.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Globalization in the fields of Education

Someone had said that "Change is the only permanent thing here on earth", everything else is temporary. We are living in a world that is continuously changing and improving for the benefit of mankind. Now we are living in a world where technology is a part of our everyday human-life. Before, man was satisfied living in the "traditional world" until he discovered he has the power to innovate and improve the world.

There are technological innovations everywhere we go, in the fields of science, math, arts and many more. And maybe the most known technological innovation we known is the internet. It is now possible to communicate with our love-ones through the internet. There are different kinds of communication in the net which includes chatting, sending electronic emails, voice calls, video calls and blogging. Blogs are online diaries where one can post all his/her feelings in the net and make it available in the network. More than that, blogging also helps teachers and students in the field of education. It is said that "learning does not stop on the 4 walls of the classroom". Blogging helps the students to learn more and extend their learning abilities by being more open to their thoughts and insights. It does not limit the capacity of the students only through reading, they can post comments and information which can also help other students who may read their post and teachers as well. In that way, they have also helped others who have the same insights like them. As for teachers, blogging helps their life easier and gives them advantages. Instead of making a web page a blog is simpler. It helps them to communicate easier with their students. Instead of calling or reaching for the students one by one in case of special announcements, they'll just have to post it on the blog so everyone can see it. In that case, no one would be held responsible if someone of the students missed any important announcements but themselves, it is the students responsibility to be checking the daily blog for it has become as a tool in the classroom and plays an important part in learning. Teachers have the freedom to delete or to block any horrendous comment, as for students, it is their responsibility to treat their teachers with utmost respect even if they may not be talking face to face. Their is also so much responsibility when it comes to students, they must be aware of their own safety in the net and avoid going to blogs that does not correspond to them, privacy and security also matters. For some, blogging also have its own disadvantages as much as it had its own advantages but we must remember that self-discipline is the key to avoid disadvantages in the net.

article used:
http://www.wtvi.com/teks/04_05_articles/educational_blogging.html